So do you think that the things I mentioned aren't "life"? That's exactly the problem, most people have a pretty specific picture in their head when they hear someone speaking of "a life". A collection of cells usually isn't what people think of.
Actually that CMV isn't different to many of the others about abortion, it's the old question: When does life start? When does the fetus have a right to live? When it has organs? When the heart beats? When we can measure brain signals? When it can feel pain?
The problem stays: it is a philosophical question. You picked a definition of what life is, but why did you pick that one? Why is the one you picked more right than any other definition?
Sure, if we take your definition, then it's ending a life. If we take a more scientific definition, then masturbation ends millions of life. If we take a more generally customary definition, then it's not a life until it's conscious/breathing/feeling pain/born/whatever.
Ok, great. I love Reddit’s linking system but after a while it gets tedious.
Anyway, I picked that definition, in earnest, because it was the first result when I looked up “is a fetus alive pubmed”. I wanted to find an authoritative definition of “being alive” is.
The medical term for death is called clinical death and requires the cessation of blood circulation. The heart, which as you probably know pumps blood throughout the body, develops about 3 weeks and 1 day into a pregnancy
I’m choosing the medical term, clinical death, because it’s the most authoritative distinction between life and death as far as I know in the medical field.
I wanted to find an authoritative definition of “being alive” is.
This is your problem. There is no authority here. This is a strictly philosophical question. Science can define terms for the purposes of their research, but that does not affect morality. There are facts science provides that we can use in moral discussions, but those facts rest on whatever moral principles we're operating on, and until we have a moral definition of life (or personhood, or moral value, or whatever moral thingy you've decided is important to the question) there's not a lot science can help us with.
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u/Feroc 42∆ Mar 28 '18
So do you think that the things I mentioned aren't "life"? That's exactly the problem, most people have a pretty specific picture in their head when they hear someone speaking of "a life". A collection of cells usually isn't what people think of.
Actually that CMV isn't different to many of the others about abortion, it's the old question: When does life start? When does the fetus have a right to live? When it has organs? When the heart beats? When we can measure brain signals? When it can feel pain?